Nuno Espírito Santo’s Wolverhampton Wanderers were knocked out of the Europa League on Tuesday, as the final four in the competition was decided in Germany.
A defensive Wolves side went down to a late goal and a 1-0 defeat to Sevilla, but there was better news for Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United and Shakhtar Donetsk coach Luis Castro who both secured places in the semi-finals.
Elimination for Wolves against Spaniards Sevilla in Duisburg not only ended their season, but also meant Nuno’s side will not play in European competition next year. Having finished 7th in the English top flight, direct entry into the Champions League through winning the Europa League was Wolves’ only chance of qualifying for continental competition next year.
Rui Patrício, Rúben Vinagre, Rúben Neves and João Moutinho all started for Wolves, who had just 25% possession in a showing clearly reliant on the counter attack. One such break afforded the English side their best chance of the match on 12 minutes when Neves played a short pass to Adama Traore, who carried possession from inside his own half to the penalty area where he was brought down by Diego Carlos. Former Benfica striker Raul Jimenez stepped up to take the spot kick, but saw his effort saved by Yassine Bounou.
Nuno "proud" despite late heartbreak
Despite seeing so little of the ball, Wolves appeared set to take the tie to extra time having replenished the side late on in the game with the introductions of Diogo Jota and Pedro Neto. However, a quickly-taken corner found its way to the experienced Ever Banega and the experienced Argentine produced a dangerous delivery into the box to Lucas Ocampos to glance a head past Patrício for an 88th-minute winner.
“Frustration,” Nuno said after the match. “In the last minute, something that happened to us too many times, it required focus on a set-piece. But I’m proud of the boys, they played a tough team and we were organised. Small details, small margins, it’s all about that, but that happens in football. But we came this far, now it’s over, let’s rest and look for the future.
“Encroachment on Jimenez’s penalty? I didn’t see the images. But if you tell me that, then VAR shouldn’t have allowed it, but I didn’t see the images so I couldn’t give a fair opinion on it. But now we cannot do anything about it. It’s one more detail that will make us even more sad than we are.
“It’s a small squad and we must be really proud, but now we need to make good decisions so we cannot make mistakes like we did before. We need more players that can help us.”
“Of course, everybody, everybody [has enjoyed it]. A word back to our fans back in Wolverhampton; we miss them, everything could be different with their presence. This is a moment that we should, but the pandemic didn’t allow us to be together, but for sure, the future is bright for us.”
Fernandes penalty sees United through
Sevilla, coached by former Porto boss Julen Lopetegui, will play Manchester United next Sunday in Cologne. The Red Devils were again far from convincing in an extra-time 1-0 win over Copenhagen of Denmark, as their fatigued performance level noticeable during the closing weeks of the Premier League season was again evident at the RheinEnergieStadion.
Bruno Fernandes scored a crucial penalty in United’s last outing against Leicester to seal a top four place in the league, and the winter arrival from Sporting repeated the feat in extra time after Anthony Martial was fouled. Fernandes dispensed with his now familiar jump in the run-up, but nevertheless beat Copenhagen’s impressive goalkeeper Karl-Johan Johnsson.
Fun fact. For the first 18 months of his two and a half seasons at Sporting, Bruno Fernandes was not Sporting's first-choice penalty taker. https://t.co/MtsMw1RAWH
— Tom Kundert (@PortuGoal1) August 10, 2020
After the match, United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer commented on Bruno Fernandes’ penalty approach after yet another successful dispatch. “He knows that keepers will wait for him to do the jump. He practises both of them and he practises both sides. He’s got them sorted better that I did.”
Some nice post-match footage recorded as the players made their way from the field consisted of a light-hearted conversation between Fernandes, Solskjaer and Copenhagen’s Portuguese-born midfielder Zeca. During the exchange, Zeca congratulated Solskjaer on his work at United, while the manager joked that Fernandes had given away possession often and Zeca confessed his Sporting allegiances.
“He’s helping”
— Sean Gillen (@SeanGillen9) August 11, 2020
Portuguese-born midfielder Zeca of Copenhagen thanks Ole Gunnar Solksjaer for his work at Man Utd pic.twitter.com/IVGWZVkbDY
Shakhtar beat Basel to set up Inter showdown
The other half of the semi-final draw sees Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk, led by Portuguese Luis Castro, set to meet Internazionale of Italy next Monday. Inter edged past Germans Bayer Leverkusen, while Shakhtar produced another impressive display to hammer Basel 4-1 with all four goals scored by Brazilians.
Castro’s side took the lead inside two minutes when Junior Morais headed them in front, and Taison doubled the advantage with the aid of a deflection twenty minutes later. Shakhtar continued to overwhelm their opponents in a fantastic first-half display, but had to wait until late on for their clinching goals as Alan Patrick scored from the spot after Taison was fouled and Dodo put a shine on the win.
"We played fantastically against a very difficult team,” Castro said. “We prepared a lot and the semi-final was our aim. We had some fantastic moments. What of Inter now? Just a great, strong team, very well organized. And we know very well that they are contenders for the Europa League title, just like we are.”
By Sean Gillen
